Long Beach gas rates to drop slightly

LONG BEACH - Long Beach Gas and Oil customers should be getting a break on their bills, but some may not notice it.

A requested rate change would impact gas service received on and after March 1 and would lower a typical residential bill by two cents, from $30.88 to $30.86, according to the Long Beach Gas and Oil Department.

The City Council will be asked to implement the new rate schedule on Tuesday.

Long Beach's charter requires that the price charged customers by the city's gas utility be based on market rates for similar services in Southern California.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a report last week that it expects natural gas production to be flat for the next two years and attributed warm weather to decreases in prices outside of the Northeast.

The rate change will cut gas revenues by $430,000 for the remainder of the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, and $918,500 annually, the Gas and Oil Department report says.

Meetings webcast

Councilman Patrick O'Donnell and Vice Mayor Robert Garcia will present a proposal at Tuesday's meeting to air live webcasts of City Council standing committee and advisory body meetings.

City Council meetings have been broadcast live on the Internet since 2004 and aired on Long Beach's cable television network for two decades. Some committee and advisory body meetings have been recorded and archived to the city's website.

Ensuring all regular meetings are webcast would increase government transparency, according to a memorandum, and allow the public and staff to view meetings via computer, smartphone and tablet devices.

A one-time cost of $2,500 is anticipated to buy technology for the effort. Hosted vendor support would cost $100 per month, the proposal said.